71. The Great Fire 1666

The City of London Guide Lecturers’ Association held an evening Busting the Myths: The Great Fire of London in St Lawrence Jewry on 7 March. Chairman Tony Tucker asked Sharon Ament, Director, Museum of London, to look at the evidence for the cause of the fire, its consequences and the aftermath. The Museum holds a number of fire related artefacts and the main literary source is Samuel Pepys’ Diary. The talk reviewed the pace of the fire and what happened to the large displaced population; the role of the Monarch and the Duke of York, and the impossible position of the then Lord Mayor, Sir Thomas Bludworth, when it came to authorising the destruction of property for firebreaks. There will be a lot more about the fire in the coming months.